These are just a few examples of the assurances one large apartment developer is making to residents of the neighborhood it plans to build in next.

The project in question is an eight-story, 276-unit apartment complex that will replace the aging Skylane Apartments at the entrance of the Woodland Heights neighborhood near downtown. Although some residents are glad to see the weatherworn complex go, others have raised concerns over how the new, higher-density project will affect traffic, green space and parking.

The deal is expected to close next month, but Charleston, S.C.-based Greystar has already made an effort to work with neighbors and hear their concerns.

Minutes from a recent meeting between the developer and the local civic association shed light on the nitty-gritty negotiations that can mean the difference between a peaceful project and one that leads to lengthy and expensive court battles. As pent-up demand for residential projects inside Loop 610 increases tensions in neighborhoods across Houston, some developers are learning that it's better to work with, rather than against or around, the folks who already live there.

"More and more you see developers devoting more time and energy into proactively addressing neighborhood concerns," said John Walsh, director of the graduate real estate program at the University of Houston.

Historically, Walsh said in an email, developers rarely made neighborhood concerns a priority.

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The change is especially evident in inner-city redevelopment projects.

"This is motivated by business objectives (public perception impacts and market demand) and an ethical motivation to responsibly 'build community' through real estate development," he wrote.

'Always a balancing act'

Earlier this year, Greystar announced it was purchasing the 76-unit Skylane apartments, built in 1960, and replacing it with a new project called Elan Heights. The property sale should close in September and the demolition of the apartments will take place between January and March 2014. The complex could open by the summer of 2016.

Trent Conner, Greystar managing director, met with residents at a public meeting shortly after the project was announced.

Three weeks ago, he met for a more detailed discussion with representatives from the Woodland Heights Civic Association, representatives of Mayor Annise Parker and City Councilman Ed Gonzalez and an engineer who conducted a traffic study.

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Pinning down the particulars

New details that emerged from a recent meeting over the planned Elan Heights complex:

1 Traffic impact: The project is expected to generate 92 additional car trips around the project each weekday morning and 103 in the evenings. 1 Bikes: To encourage residents to bike more, developers will provide space to park bicycles and a maintenance shop with tools, a bike stand and a vending machine that sells tubes, repair kits and power bars.

"People more than anything else want to be informed and know what's happening in their community," Conner said later. "It's always a balancing act, given that some folks have unrealistic expectations of what should be developed."

He said Greystar completed two other projects in the last 18 months, one in the Texas Medical Center and another in the Galleria area. Leaders of those projects at the company held similar neighborhood meetings.

Plans for dog park

At the July 31 meeting, details emerged about specifics of entry and exit at certain streets, plans for sidewalks, availability of bicycle parking, sewage and the preservation of existing oak trees. Participants also discussed the implications of the traffic analysis required by the city. The project will generate 92 additional trips in the vicinity each weekday morning and 103 in the evenings.

Greystar is also working with the Woodland Heights Civic Association to petition the city to use the developer's required fees to build a dog park at adjacent Stude Park and to incorporate additional traffic signals and speed bumps in the area.

Conner said some people may never be happy, but he does his best to listen to concerns.

"The reality is that we are not required to do that," he said. "We do it because we want to be good neighbors and inform the community about what we are doing. To the extent we can, we accommodate their concerns."

Greystar was not part of the so-called Ashby high-rise project near Rice University, where construction is just beginning after years of legal battles and neighborhood resistance. Other battles have emerged in close-in neighborhoods amid a flurry of construction activity there.

Lana Bishop, a Woodland Heights resident who attended the recent Greystar meeting, said the building will be an improvement for the area. Its location near the Interstate 10 feeder road likely abated the normal tension brought out by development, she said. Traffic will still be the main issue going forward, she said.

Attitude appreciated

Bishop, who lives directly across from the site, said she appreciated Greystar's communication and cooperative attitude.

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"This says to me they are interested in the community and not just their own property and bottom-line profits," Bishop said. "They recognize they will build in an existing community and so far have shown a positive attitude toward working with us."

But Woodland Heights resident Lauren Lindsay lives next door to another multifamily complex under way in the neighborhood and said she remains skeptical of developers' promises.

"We get hit left and right with these developments," she said. "We are a little neighborhood and it's not designed to be densely populated."

She said traffic remains a concern with Elan Heights, but the Greystar meetings seem like a good sign.

"I think that's definitely a positive development as long they carry out what they say they will do," Lindsay said. "Some people are saying, 'Yeah but we don't necessarily trust they will do it.'"